In an industry often defined by tradition and legacy, a new generation is reshaping what jewelry means and who it is for. Among them is Rachel Kupasrimonkol, founder of Farine Jewels, whose work is rooted in emotion, memory, and human connection. Kupasrimonkol builds each piece as an extension of lived experience, translating moments of joy, resilience, and growth into wearable form. Her use of color is intentional and expressive, drawing from both personal history and a desire to reconnect with a sense of individuality often muted by the uniformity of city life. Check out our interview with the designer here…
FARINE JEWELS
Rachel Kupasrimonkol, Founder and CEO
Instagram:@farinejewels
Can you share your journey into jewelry, and what first inspired you to become a jeweler or designer?
The beauty that nature creates in gemstones and how the jewelry world could enhance it is what pulled me into jewelry. I’d always wanted a creative career but being the first generation of an immigrant family, I was never given the option. During Covid, with more time at home and spent on my phone, I went down the rabbit hole of discovering gemstone content on social media. I was enthralled by all the different types of stones and the treatments or lack thereof on the stones. I’d learn something new via a post, then I’d dive into the knowledge on the web and my curiosity just grew. I was amazed also by how little I knew, as a consumer that loved jewelry. I’d never heard of spinel or paraìba and I needed to know more! I got the push I needed to pursue this passion when I was laid off from my tech job in 2023. It was an unexpected change in my life and rather than turn back around and go back into that world, my mother in law (who is from Thailand) pushed me to take the leap into gemstones and jewelry. Simply put, she said, “why not now?” and then I asked myself that question, and I didn’t have a reason to not pursue this dream. Fear was in the back of my mind because I was worried I would fail. Without the background in design, and without the gemstone education, the road to success felt long and even a little impossible.
Who or what are some of your biggest creative influences?
Definitely first and foremost my children. I have an 8 year old son and a 5 year old daughter and their creativity knows no boundaries. For example, when I learn someone’s name, my brain tries to hear for a name that it recognizes. For my children, when they hear a name, they can copy it on the first try because they have no presets. The lack of presets really allows them to dream big and wide, and I love talking to them about ideas that I have and getting their feedback. I know it’s going to be original!
Susannah King, Suzy Landa, Emily P Wheeler-, I love their use of color. It’s so unapologetic. Having spent about half my life now in New York City, I’ve seen the world in many shades of greys and blacks. But I used to wear color! When I first moved to New York, I loved wearing color, but the city wore me down. When I discovered these designers and jewelers, their use of color blew me away and reminded me that adding color doesn’t detract from style. It gave me the confidence I needed to lean back into the colors without being worried that my designs might come across childish. These women have beautifully sophisticated designs, and I aspire to reach their level.
How would you describe your design aesthetic in three words?
Refined– I think my designs are elegant and simple. I want to focus on the beauty of the stones and materials with a focus on a clear representation of the emotion or memory that inspired the piece.
Intimate– I want the designs to feel like seeing your best friend. It should be comfortable to put it on, and it should be a piece you can wear all day, every day. It will be a piece that spends a lot of time on your body, but not in the pool.
Organic- I love curved shapes and while I’ve played with a few knife edge styles in my Tough Enough collection, I love the smoothness of round shapes or shapes that follow the lines of the stones that I use.
Describe a new collection, or collection, you’re working on and the story behind it.
I’m working on a new collection of one of a kind pieces that build on some existing designs in my current collections. These designs will push my jewelry engineering and design skills beyond my comfort zone and in a way it’s inspired by my dad. When I had just moved to NYC and was learning the ropes of my first job, I remember calling home to tell my parents how hard living in the city was. I lived in a 5th floor walk up, and dragging 4 bags of groceries up the stairs after being caught in the rain was definitely an uncomfortable situation. I remember my dad’s response being that if I was uncomfortable, that meant I was growing and learning, and that has stuck with me all these years. So this next collection will be focused on expanding my skills and feeling uncomfortable.
What is a jewelry that you designed that has a particularly meaningful story for you?
The Reinforcement Initial is one of the most simple, but significant pieces for me. When I started in my brand and business, I was full of self-doubt; honestly, some days I’m still questioning whether or not I’m doing things right. But I would notice that if I got a compliment or a vote of confidence every once in a while, it would give me the fuel I needed to push through to my next goal. That positive reinforcement has really played a role in helping me put one foot in front of the other and to keep my business moving forward even when things felt stalled or lagging. It was a reminder that I was just in my own head. People were seeing my progress and their positive reinforcement pushed me out of my slump. The Reinforcement Initial is my way of honoring those people. The piece is an initial that has a strategically placed rondelle that rotates. Every time I start to double myself, touching the pendant and feeling the motion of the rondelle breaks me out of my self-doubt shell and brings me back into reality where my business is growing and moving.
Also, the challenge of designing a letter that wasn’t an existing font was a real challenge to my design ability. I didn’t want to use a font that existed, so I hand drew every letter. I came up with the design to make the rondelle fully rotational and I’m really proud of the letter’s construction. The rondelle rotates smoothly.
What role does technology play in your design process (e.g., CAD, 3D printing, digital sketching)?
I couldn’t create my pieces without physical and digital sketching, CAD and wax. All my ideas start on paper. I’m a tactile person, and while I do like formalizing designs in digital sketching, I need the freedom to freeform-draw when my idea is coming to life, especially when my brain hasn’t fully formed the side view or ¾ view of the piece. Digital sketching definitely helps me refine the design. It brings in symmetry and uniformity. CAD and waxes then help me confirm scale and construction. Technology is integral in my design process.
What values are reflected in your work (responsible sourcing, sustainability, other etc.), and how do you integrate those values into your collections?
Transparency and commitment to quality are two values I won’t compromise. I think that sometimes consumers gripe about pricing or assumed quality because they don’t understand the process that a piece has to go through to arrive at their doorstep. I’m committed to honesty around how my pieces are made and I share a lot of that process through my social media channels. Additionally, I personally review every piece we make at every step of process. I will never send something out that I wouldn’t personally wear. I started out photographing my pieces on my own and refused to photoshop the pieces because I wanted people to see what they really looked like and to get the photos I wanted, the pieces had to be flawless.
Many younger jewelers emphasize storytelling. What story do you share with your jewelry?
I share as many as I can! I think stories are what bind us together. When I tell my stories I relive those emotions. I see those emotions light up in others that connect to my stories and it heightens empathy – an empathy that helps to create a community. The main stories that I share, though, are ones that help me move forward after looking back. My first collection was focused on moments of joy, and my second collection was focused on things that gave me strength and made me feel tough.
How do your personal identity and background influence your work?
My whole brand is based off my experiences that have formed my personal identity. My experiences as a woman surface in my Tough Enough designs and the feeling of needing physical protection when walking down a dark street alone. My Savor necklace represents my love as a mother, trying to savor small moments with my daughter that feel fleeting. The Double Date pendant represents my love of spontaneity, and the Belly earrings are a reminder of the freedom to eat whatever I wanted when I was pregnant. My identity runs through every piece in my collections.
As an Asian American, I haven’t yet found a way to integrate that into my designs because in all honesty, I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to ignore that side of myself. Growing up in North Carolina, I experienced a lot of racism and only now at my age am I starting to look at my ethnic identity and embrace it. Jade carries strong symbolism in my culture, and I’ve started to explore how to incorporate it in more modern ways into my designs.
How do you balance artistry with the practical demands of running a business?
Artistry is the hard part for me! In my past career, business operations and efficiency was integral to getting good work done, so I’ve adopted many of those best practices into my own business. Getting my mind into design mode is harder for me to do. Some mornings I wake up with a design ready to go. I’ve seen it 360 degrees in my mind and it’s a matter of translating it onto paper. But sometimes I have an inspiration for a piece- a strong memory- and I can’t find a way to translate that into jewelry. When I run into that block, I spend time with vintage and antique jewelry, and as I look at those pieces, I look for elements of those pieces that evoke my memory or a particular emotion. Everything has been done in jewelry, but I’m the only one that sees it the way I do, and I rely on my unique perspective to help me create my beautiful pieces.
What innovative approaches are you using to reach today’s consumer?
Social media continues to evolve…not just how it delivers its content but what the users of it expect to see and how much time and attention they devote to it. I really try to study trends and how they apply to the story of jewelry design and jewelry making. I’ve had a few successes so far!
Connecting with my customer- I intentionally want to know about my customers. I intentionally want to connect with them. My jewelry feels familiar, like a best friend, and that’s the image and vibe I want for Farine. I know that means I’m taking more time away from designing and making, but I want to know who I’m making for, intimately so to do that I have to know them. I have to ask them about what makes them happy, what makes them sad, what brings them calmness and stress. It’s not innovative to connect with your customer I suppose, but I think my desire to want to know them is unique.
Do you think social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest) are changing how jewelry is designed, marketed, and sold? How do they affect your business?
It’s definitely changed the way that jewelry is marketed and sold. Eight years ago, I don’t think people felt as comfortable with committing to making a purchase through Instagram DMs, but today that seems much more commonplace. Aside from converting, having Tiktok has my reach engine and Instagram as my relationship builder for free is amazing. Without them, I could be that tree that falls in the forest that no one hears. These platforms have helped me get discovered. They’re also great vehicles for storytelling and behind the scenes content. It has taken some time for me to get comfortable with being in front of the camera, but planning out content was a page out of my previous career’s playbook so it doesn’t feel as daunting of a task, as say, creating a new collection. I do think that it impacts how I reflect on my designs after I’ve created them. My designs start from a memory or emotion so having that as a starting point makes storytelling about my pieces feel very organic, but I can see this impacting designers that don’t design from that same headspace. Developing a story around why something was designed the way it was without the content feeling burdensome (read: long, riddled with industry lingo and knowledge) is hard.
How have mentorship or peer networks played a role in your career so far?
Yes, without a doubt. It’s helped me realize some toxic relationships early on and given me the signals I needed to step away. I have some great jewelry designer friends that I bounce ideas off of and that touch base with me every few weeks and I feel so lucky to be in their orbit. Their momentum is infectious!
What are your hopes for the future of the jewelry industry as more Gen Z and Millennial voices rise to the forefront?
I hope that people find more comparable fine materials to work with and popularize in jewelry. I love gold as much as the next person, but to be at the mercy of the price of gold, which is rising rapidly, makes jewelry feel less and less accessible and I wish we could find ways to buck the trends and bring our clients with us.
What advice would you give to other young jewelers just starting out?
Take your time and draw from within. Like I said, in jewelry, it’s all been done before so find your perspective and lean into it. Those parts of you that you think are weird are the parts of you that are most unique. Don’t rush to create that first piece- be intentional and be meticulous.
If you could redefine or change one thing about the jewelry industry, what would it be?
I wish it was easier to find a mentor. While I have friends in the industry, I’m looking for someone with tenured jewelry making experience as a mentor to guide me on my design journey. That’s hard to come by! Know anyone?
